Усилители мощности стерео — Pilot Radio 232

The 232 Stereophonic Power Amplifier is a valve power amplifier from Pilot Radio, the American brand relaunched by Barak Isidor Epstein, great-grandson of company founder Isidor Goldberg. It is based on Pilot's Curtain of Sound circuit of 1959, redesigned by Damon Coffman of Coffman Labs. It was unveiled at the Southwest Audio Fest in Dallas at USD 4,790, and it is built in Portland and Dallas.

Key specs that matter

Output is 15 W per channel from EL84 output valves, and Pilot describes the design as pure Class A. Transformers are custom made in the USA. The build uses point-to-point hand wiring and vintage oil-in-paper capacitors. Speaker outputs are provided for 4 and 8 ohm loads. Each channel has its own sensitivity control and balance control, and the inputs include balanced connections.

Engineering and use context

The original Pilot company, based in Brooklyn, produced radios from the 1920s and hi-fi electronics in the 1950s and 1960s, including the SA-232 stereo amplifier of 1959 and models marketed as Curtain of Sound. The new 232 keeps the circuit concept of the 1959 design while modernising the execution. The EL84 is a small power pentode, and in Class A its output valves conduct over the full waveform, so no crossover error arises, though efficiency drops and power stays modest. Point-to-point wiring connects components directly without a circuit board, a traditional valve construction that is easy to service. Oil-in-paper capacitors, used in the signal path, were common in the era of the original design. Separate taps on the output transformers let the owner match the amplifier to the speaker's impedance, keeping the valves at their intended load. Per-channel sensitivity controls allow the input level to be adjusted to the source or preamplifier. Pilot's 1950s catalogue included the SP-210 stereo preamplifier and the SA-260 60 W stereo amplifier, and the 232 name recalls the SA-232. Speakers of 90 dB or more with a gentle impedance curve suit its modest output. Pilot's relaunch is a family revival rather than a purchased trademark.

Pairing

The 232 suits efficient speakers such as Klipsch Heritage, DeVore Fidelity or Audio Note models, in rooms of 12 to 25 m2. A valve or solid-state line preamplifier feeds it.

Alternatives

Pilot Radio currently offers no other stereo power amplifier alongside the 232.